You have Opera installed on your computer and open it occasionally when Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer starts acting up. But, there is something holding you back from clicking that “Make Opera My Default Browser” button. What is it?

The Good Features of Opera

Speed Dial

One great customization feature of Opera is Speed Dial. When you open the browser or a new tab this handy page pops up displaying all of the sites and extensions you need and visit on a regular basis.

You can create folders for similar sites like social media, news, or shopping. You can add extensions such as weather widgets, analog clocks, and countdown alarms. You can even give it a beautiful theme from static images to those that are animated.

Discover

As mentioned above, on the Speed Dial screen is a link to Discover. It may not be considered a major feature of Opera, but it is certainly a nice-to-have option. Not only will it give you the Top Stories in news, but 14 additional categories to browse through.

See what’s new in Business, Entertainment, Sports, or Technology with a click. In addition, you can customize the Top Stories to include or exclude any of these categories. Discover is simply a handy addition to your main Speed Dial screen.

Syncing and Opera Mini

If you are an avid Opera user, then most likely you take advantage of the syncing with your mobile devices. Signing in to your Opera account, like most other browsers, allows you to access bookmarks, history, and settings wherever you sign in.

A Blessing and a Curse

Opera Settings

One might say that the ease of setup and configuration of Opera’s settings is a good feature. You do not have to hold a Master’s Degree in Information Technology to configure your Opera settings. The settings are displayed simplistically, the descriptions are comprehensive, and it is all just very uncomplicated.

The curse comes in for those who require more advanced settings for their browser and appreciate those that others like Firefox supply. For example, the connection settings for Firefox offer many more options for configurations than Opera’s connection settings do. These types of differences can be a major factor in which browser you choose.

Opera Extensions

There is definitely a big difference in the extension category. For example, searching for “Pinterest” extensions on Opera10 Awesome Social Media Add-ons You'll Love for Opera10 Awesome Social Media Add-ons You'll Love for OperaOpera has many social media extensions to choose from, but which work best? Here is a list of 10 excellent extensions for Opera that work great and cover all the popular social media networks.Read More yields five results whereas in Firefox you receive 34 options. Again, this is a blessing and a curse. Some may consider it a pro because you only have five options to research and experiment with, so the limited options make it easier to decide.

However, with only five options as opposed to 34 you are in a situation where if those five extensions do not work well, you have nowhere else to go. With seven times as many to try on Firefox you have a better chance of finding the one that works best for you. Additionally, those extensions that are provided in your search results for Opera are not necessarily a complete match, as you can see below. So, you are limited even more.

Flipping the Switch

With all of the helpful features and reliability I have experienced with Opera in recent months, I am one who is still hesitant to make Opera my default browser. There is no one specific reason; however, it really comes down to favoritism, convenience, and limited extensions for why I will not make the browser switch.

Convenience

On my Mac and iOS devices, well frankly, I have not needed a different or backup browser because Safari has always been stable for me and allows me to sync effortlessly. So, why even install another browser?

Limited Extensions

The limited extensions offered by Opera are definitely a deterrent as well. While narrowed-down extensions to experiment with can be a handy way to find what you want, I simply prefer more options.

So for now, Opera remains my non-default browser, but has moved up as the second-in-command on my PC for the attractive features and continued reliability. Unless Firefox and Safari become completely unusable, I have no compelling reason to make a full switch.

It’s Your Turn: Why Won’t You Switch?

Okay all of you Opera fans, tell us what makes this your favorite browser. Which features do you love that made you hit the default browser button?

For those of you like me who cannot quite make the switch, what are your reasons? Are they any of those listed here or do you have others? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below on the whys or the why nots when it comes to Opera.

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Bill

July 25, 2018 at 9:07 pm

Opera was great UNTIL they added the "speed dial" page which automatically loads on new tabs. It takes a LONG TIME to buffer. If you search from the speed dial page it takes a LONG TIME to get search results. If you type in a different URL in the address bar it takes a LONG TIME to switch to that web page.
Opera forces you to use the poorly named "speed dial" page. There is nothing you can do about it. It is like a very sick joke. Opera used to be the fastest browser. But then they decided to 'improve' it by adding the speed dial, which ironically slowed it down dramatically. The idiots.

Why can't they understand? People switched to Opera because it was fast, period. And it was great. But the people at Opera just couldn't help themselves I guess. They decided to change the winning formula. They tried to add content which other browsers have, in a kind of "me too, but better!" idea.
If people wanted a browser bogged down with added features they wouldn't have switched to Opera in the first place.

So now I am looking for a different browser again. I just want the most slimmed down, basic browser I can find. That used to be Opera, until they ruined it.

I quite agree with this, but I have recently switched to Opera and it is working fine. What I really love about it is that you can install google chrome extensions (using the 'install google chrome extensions' extension) and there are more extensions to choose from. The only downside at the moment is that the VPN is not working, and always trying to connect.

I have switched. However, annoyingly, whenever I want to open a document on my Mac desktop, Opera disappears and I have to reopen it. Conversely, my document disappears when I do so. I am almost ready to give up.

Opera is an outstanding browser and has been my default since 2007! I love the ease of use and simple customization of it as well, and for older computers such as mine you really can't go wrong with Opera no matter what! Also I'm on a data plan too and the Turbo feature truly saves me from exceeding my limit each and every month. So yes Opera is an awesome browser and I would never go back to using anything else ever again!!!

Good article, I would have to say that the reason I have not "hit the switch" either is because of my strong preference for Firefox. I divorced Chrome way before all the cool kids were doing it and have been relying heavily on Mozilla, but even it can't always handle many multiple tabs and windows at the same time. I need a second in command and Opera currently holds that seat and will probably keep it unless they can find ways to out-cool Firefox.

No matter where we go or what we do in Britain we are being spied on with cameras everywhere and our Internet access is no different. I love the idea of a free VPN as I want privacy in as many aspects of my life as possible. I don't even trust Facebook and social media sites as one day something we say can be recalled and used against us. Opera is my default browser since the VPN option was made available in the normal standard version. I absolutely love it and it can be turned off/on easily any time I have location issues (the VPN takes me to the Netherlands but I cannot by UK Lottery tickets from there).

There is no reason to switch when there is not a bold difference in the perspective switch to option. Or at least something that is bugging in the browser of choice, irritating enough to force you switch.

I am like you I have been using Firefox and Chrome for years now but they are becoming more and more unstable(but to clarify I am still on XP and don't know if that has anything to do with it)
I started using Opera lately and have made it my default but am hesitant to take the others off just yet as I was experimenting with it. I was right. I don't know what happened this week but I had Opera all set up with my favorite extensions four of which are on its list and two others were from the chrome store. NOw when I did this just a week or so ago there was a place to get extensions from the chrome store for things not available on opera extensions list and could be then added to the browser. One day I open the browser to do my stuff as usual and all my extensions are gone and and I got the four back but can't find the link to get the others back on Opera, I have looked all over it. Now the one I want the most was Session buddy as I like it for sessions better than session manager and the other one was Lazarus because pages were always crashing in firefox right after I just wrote a paragraph for a message and then I would forget what I was saying. Lazarus saves what you typed and you can recover it to paste. I had that put on Opera but it seems no longer available for the browser. Does anyone know what happened? I still have the session html but can't open it properly.

Opera is better than chrome as a) It uses webkit like chrome so will work with all google apps b) The webkit also means you can install an extension that allows you to install chrome extensions, so extensiosn have no problem. c) Opera looks more classy, more up to date with the 'sharp' look than chrome does, meaning it is reasonably simialr to edge & explorer.

One point against is that there are not as many facts & tutorials as chrome.

I do love chrome & opera though. Prefer Opera.

A few annoyances, Google apps thinks opera is unsupported but is not actually. And, when installing extensions from google webstore you need to go into settings to activate.

A simple feature that I can't live without and Chrome/Firefox don't have is to cycle back to the most recently used tab with Ctrl-Tab. Both Chrome and Firefox will go through all tabs and I can't understand why they do it like that :(

I have several chrome add ons installed on my opera, never had any problems.

I made the switch to opera from chrome for two main reasons.

1) Chrome in the last month or so has decided to change the way they handle extensions. You can no longer install adds on/extensions that are not directly from the chrome store. No ability to install these manually anymore either... I understand why they did this, in order to protect users from their own stupidity, but still, at least put some hoop jumping ways for me to re-enable it. Enable a setting which requires you to logging into my google account before it enables. :\

Keep in mind the ability to put an extension up on the webstore requires you to pay $5 to do so. I think it could very well have a negative affect for those who offer free add ons, not only are they donating their time for free, but have to directly pay for it going up as well.
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2) Pretty much complete, seamless syncing with my opera android browser as well the rest of my computers. I have a desktop, a laptop, and my mobile that I regularly use the internet on. I LOVE the ability to have one synced history, opened tabs, settings, bookmarks... It's truly a must have for me.

You could also sync passwords as well, but well, I use lastpass for that, I feel much more safer using that as it's incredibly secure. One could pushbullet a website over to your desktop or phone, but, well, that requires a few active clicks and the knowledge you'd need that tab later. Nothing better than being able to be on your laptop, hibernate it and jump on the desktop, or being on my 'driod and just turn on my laptop or desktop continue on with whatever I was on.

Edit: Looks like chrome can do the same tab syncing if you monkey around with a few settings. Point two is now torpedoed. Shrugs. I prefer the way opera android handles tabs, firefox and chrome has a very slight delay with changing tabs on android, whereas opera with tablet gui chosen from options acts just like a desktop browser with quicker tab access.

-built in ad block (although it lacks easy right clicking element blocking currently) allegedly it's faster & uses less mem compared to a separate extension
-free vpn, it's super easy to switch it off and on. You don't need to make an account or anything!
-A battery saving mode
-built in video pop out. Chrome has an extensions to do this for youtube, but last I knew it wasn't built in by default.

Used Opera for over a year now, still love it. I pretty much never use chrome anymore. Firefox still is notable for it's extensions. Some of them are quite unique and never made it to chromium engines. I rarely launch it though.

When I tried Opera a few months ago the installer made Opera my default web browser without asking.
(Yes I watched the installer, with all the installers that try to install malware/crapware you have no choice)

Then it offered no way to change that default, seemed to resist that in fact.

Tried it for a short time, saw no improved functions over the other browsers, uninstalled it.

Jeff C - No, you screwed something up. Opera does the same thing EVERY other browser does, it shows a dialog asking if you want to make it default. It most definitely does NOT automatically make itself default. (Although even if a browser did, this is hardly a big deal-- you did just install it so it's a fair assumption to make.) You probably accepted the prompt without realizing. Could happen with any browser install...

And also--like every other browser--you have to go to the browser you want to be the default to change the setting back. When was the last time you saw a Crapfox config screen which lets you choose Chrome?

I have since found that there are also versions of the Chrome installer that do not ask, just automatically make Chrome the default browser.
At least Google is open enough to tell you and to make other Chrome installers available.
Since Opera has become Chrome under the skin that may be the source.

I'd been using Mosaic/Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox as my browser other than Opera. I'd been increasing my use of Firefox, and switched over as the one category of plugin was eliminated (widgets/plugins/extensions, I think it was widgets?) and I no longer could use voice control & screen reading by default - that was the one thing that kept me interested in Opera.

ScriptSafe is a (limited) Javascript blocker for untrusted sites, similar to NoScript.
Then again, you'll get Firefox when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers (or Mozilla shoots itself in the foot, in which case I'll go to Palemoon).

@Howard Blair, Safescript has a fraction of the overall Noscript feature set. It's not really the same thing.

It's a limitation in what Addon Developers are allowed to do, but in general, it's the same story over and over: Mozilla addons can modify deeply rooted browser components, which makes Mozilla-derived browsers amazing for UI mods and security enhancements.

I'd also like to say that the Mozilla foundation has been screwing the pooch for a while now and seemingly every announcement it has made in 2015 has made it less appealing to me as an organization. Palemoon is where good browsing went and I'm not going back.

Anonymous

October 15, 2015 at 3:22 pm

I don't know what "Safescript" is, but ScriptSafe has a 4.0 star rating (1000+ ratings), and *does* block JavaScript in much the same way NoScript does (including XSS attacks, IIRC).

The only problem I have with PaleMoon is that they're quite a few versions behind Firefox (assuming they're building using the same version numbers as Mozilla, rather than building PaleMoon 25 off of Mozilla's 40+ codebase); and what will happen to PaleMoon's addons when AMO drops all its XUL-based addons?

Anonymous

October 14, 2015 at 9:34 pm

Argument is for "lack of extensions for Opera". Chrome extension numbers are comparable to Firefox addons in that case. Making the article's argument moot. Whether it has any "appealing" set of extensions to you in particular is also moot. There are addons and there are extensions that I like that do not have equivalents in their respective stores. Do I then argue in an article that they do not have good extension functionalities then? Where does it end? How many users do I have to satisfy then if I'm a developer?

Having a huge number of trivial addons is not a demonstration of merit.

NPAPI addons can fundamentally change how a browser works. This can mean major changes to user interface or to control vastly more of the traffic passed over the web from your client. Putting a button on a browser toolbar to start a game of solitaire doesn't and should not be counted with the same weight as something like Tab Mix+ or RequestPolicy.

I do understand the reasoning for restricting addon access to low-level browser components, but it also makes essential tools and improvements from third parties an impossibility and I value that freedom much more highly than having to accept the paltry capabilities found in current Webkit browsers, especially when one of them is controlled by the largest advertising company on the planet.

Who cares

August 4, 2016 at 1:57 am

I'm also a big fan of supporting 3rd party plugin architecture, but I don't think Mozilla is particularly friendly to them. They've been notoriously anti-Flash for years, doing nothing but help spread FUD and lies like another overly-powerful advertising corporation (Apple). It's just a little bit hypocritical to claim that you're for user choice when you're doing everything you can to harm the most successful portable front-end VM/platform in history, and kill 3rd party plugin architecture. I'm sure this is all about killing off ad blockers, and Flash (since Flash ads are trivial to block).

Mozilla's just pissed off because NIST's NVD says that their own security record is far worse than Flash (which actually isn't bad, relatively) and FF's record is worse than pretty much any other browser out there. ^_^

I've been using Opera as my primary browser for a few months now and I'm still frustrated. Some Web sites don't acknowledge it at all. Opera requires extra keystrokes to print a doc to a system printer. And I really prefer having a separate Search area rather than one combined with the Address bar.

I've tried Vivaldi and Chrome, but for various reasons they are not a good fit for me. I prefer Firefox, and I wouldn't even be looking for a different browser if Firefox would simply work for me. But it fails to load so many pages that I simply had to stop using it. I've turned off all extensions hoping to fix the problem, to no avail.

There's no difference between Opera and Chrome anymore, it's just a reskin. The last browser that was any good was Opera 12. That's before they became another reskin of Chrome, that's before they moved off the Presto Engine, etc.

Opera 12 had best voice reader features but it got dumped from latter versions. Quite a few other unique features were dumped too. On a Desktop PC too many of the sites I visited were problematic. Opera 12 had a reasonable memory usage. All of the modern browsers today are memory pigs doubt any run well with less than 1GB RAM.

Opera has never had a robust addon ecosystem, but even worse, Opera has for a very long time used slightly different keyboard shortcuts when compared to standards set by Mosaic/Netscape/Spyglass/IE. It was also extremely crashy at a point in time when other mainstream browsers had largely solved their crashing problems and it remained paid commercial product long past the point in time when better browsers were actually free.

In short, Opera has a long history of being a sub-par option. Maybe it's better now, but at this point it's just another webkit browser. It's still lacking a compelling collection of addons and it doesn't have any native features that make it more interesting than browsers I actually use.

The most important thing for me is speed and having a vertical tabs extension. Firefox also has the vertical tabs extension but the speed of operation and rendering of pages somehow felt heavy and lagging and that's why I switched to Opera.

I've been using Opera as my second browser (behind Chrome) for some time. I like it, and I used Opera as my primary browser for a while, but one thing in particular led me back to Chrome. At that time Opera had the idea that users didn't care much about bookmarks, and provided no good way in Opera to organize them. I save a lot of bookmarks, and I like to keep them organized so I can find them again when I want them. Chrome's bookmark manager isn't pretty, but it does the job well. Opera has improved considerably in this department, but Chrome still has them beat, and I don't feel like trying to migrate my 3600+ bookmarks and getting them all set up and working how I want them in Opera.
I liked the Opera Speed-Dial, so when I went back to Chrome I installed the FVD Speed-Dial extension to do the same thing. It is better than the Opera Speed-Dial in many ways, and can be synced with the Eversync extension. There is one useful feature of the Opera Speed-Dial, however, that I only just discovered. I check several email accounts first thing each morning, and I realized yesterday that if I put them all in one folder I could open them all at once. The icing on the cake is that Gmail still has the old one-page login on Opera.
Chrome syncs bookmarks and extensions efficiently. On a new installation you have to tweak the settings of extensions, or sign into them, but that's it. Old Opera (pre- Opera 15) would sync bookmarks and Speed-Dial, but not extensions. As there weren't many extensions available for Old Opera, and you couldn't use Chrome extensions then either, this wasn't a big deal. New Opera (Opera 15 and up) doesn't seem to have a reliable sync. It doesn't seem to want to sync the Speed-Dial at all. I just installed Linux on this laptop, and got around the sync problem by installing Opera 12, signing in and syncing (the old Sync still works with pre- Opera 15 versions), then downloading and installing Opera 32, which replaced the Opera 12 I'd just installed, but kept the dials. One "Sync" thing that does work, annoyingly enough, is that Opera has taken to adding new dials from time to time that link to their advertising partners. I don't mind them pre-populating the Speed-Dial with links to start with, but I get annoyed when they add links to iffy sites like AliExpress later on.
There is no shortage of extensions (unless you are using Opera 14 or older), because if you install the Opera extension "Download Chrome Extension" you can install any Chrome extension (but not apps) in Opera. Go to: "Opera add-ons>>Extensions>>More>>Downloads" to find it, or search in the "add-ons" search box. Once it's installed you can go to the Chrome Store and get what you want.
Since I don't use Opera all the time I never remember to use the mouse and rocker gestures, although I expect I would if I used Opera constantly.
In Linux (Mint) I can hide the "system title bar and borders" in Chrome, but I haven't figured out how to do it (or if it is possible) in New Opera (Old Opera is different). This results in wasted space at the top and less space for the actual web page (the way Firefox used to waste space at the top of the screen).
I find it handy to have more than one browser available, for example to log into more than one account on the same site at the same time. I dislike IE. I had to use it the other day for a few minutes and I was glad to be done with it. I've tried to learn to like Firefox, but it just doesn't appeal to me. Pale Moon is OK. There are some Chrome siblings, like Chromium, Slimjet and Dragon, which are all enough like Chrome that I'm right at home in them. I have Edge on my Windows 10, but I haven't really tried it out yet, and see no urgent need to. I've tried out Vivaldi, and I admire the concept, but it needs a lot more polishing to be a viable challenger in the field. Midori works well for some things, but there are some sites that don't work with it at all.
Opera loads faster than Chrome. I thought that it might be because I had more extensions in Chrome, but when I disabled everything that I didn't have installed in both browsers Opera still loaded quicker. When I ran benchmark tests on them Chrome was the fastest browser I had installed at the time, with Opera a very close second. Both were much faster than Firefox.
All in all, Opera is a great browser, but Chrome works better for me as my primary. If Opera had had better bookmark management a couple of years ago it might well have stayed my main browser and I'd probably be very happy with it. As it is, I'd have to have a compelling reason to make the effort to switch back to Opera as my primary, and at present I don't see one.

....software used to be a tool that we used to solve a problem ....now tools have become products....we are more concern about how the software looks ans how many people uses it that we are with how it works.....I have been using Opera for many many years.....so, if you have a normal internet connection it does not matter what browser you use....if you have a very slow connection or a metered one then Opera is the best browser you can use (with turbo)....I live in Nepal, I know what I'm talking about......browsers are like cars.....to go from A to B in a normal road they will all get you there in pretty much the same amount of time and comfort...the rest is marketing...... and remember that in this society we can not be unique or special by using a product (because products need to be used by millions just to exist, to be profitable)....so my advice is to use all the browsers, use windows, mac, linux, android....and be concern only with how any of it helps you to be the person you want to be.......

I miss Omniweb. Oh, it's still around, but has been left behind by the likes of 1Password, and extension makers. (It still has the best tabs, other than the fact that they don't nest). Every time I open it, I wish for what might have been. Opera's extra features have never been ones that really gripped me, and it used to be so confusing. It's better now, but isn't it really just a re-skinned Chrome? To me, that's a negative, as Chrome works with all my Google and Android stuff.

With her BS in Information Technology, Sandy worked for many years in the IT industry as a Project Manager, Department Manager, and PMO Lead. She then decided to follow her dream and now writes about technology full-time.